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Nadine Burke Harris on helping to reduce the detrimental effects on children in abusive situations.

Nadine's Biography

Early bird Because the Jamaican school system starts earlier, Nadine graduated high school at 16 and college at 20.

The three things she’s most proud of The role she’s had in the families of the patients she serves, her marriage, and the Center for Youth Wellness

What she does for fun Retail therapy, hiking, going away for the weekend with her husband

Nadine Burke Harris founded Center for Youth Wellness, an organization that seeks to recognize and effectively treat toxic stress in children. Burke Harris and her organization address adverse childhood experiences as a risk factor for adult disease such as heart disease and cancer. Burke Harris also serves as an expert advisor on Hillary Clinton’s Too Small to Fail initiative, aiming to help parents and businesses improve the lives of children ages zero to five.

The accomplished doctor received a medical degree at UC Davis and a Masters in Public Health from Harvard. In 2005, she was called to work at the California Pacific Medical Center, where she developed programs to address health disparities in the San Francisco Bay Area. She noticed a gap in pediatric services especially, and pushed for better medical coverage. In 2007, she served as the founding physician and director of the Bayview Child Health Center, a pediatric clinic that provides children and teens with regular health services, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. It was there that she saw the greatest threat to many children’s health was their exposure to trauma and adversity.